


Everybody's Hiding Something

by DemonDeepFried



Category: X-Men (Movies), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men Evolution, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crushes, Drunken Confessions, F/M, Jealousy, M/M, Mutant Powers, Mutants, Platonic Relationships, School Project, Xavier Institute, introductions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-23 10:16:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4872961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonDeepFried/pseuds/DemonDeepFried
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're a nineteen-year old student at Xavier's school; best friends with Hank McCoy who's gayer than a rainbow and reclusive as a hermit; (apparently) best friends with Alex Summers who can be annoying as often as a big ol' softie; and totally head over heels for Kurt Wagner- the hottest teleporter you've ever met.</p><p>Turns out that all the drama and angst of high school applies to mutant high school too.</p><p>Who'd have guessed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Introduction

_He watched her, never realising that she was watching him._

_Kurt liked to think of himself as silent and stealthy. He had grown up to hide and to go unseen, and it had influenced him much further into his life. He had adapted to run and hide from those who would see him as a monster, those that would hurt him, kill him._

_But everyone at Xavier mansion had come from some sort of background like that, Kurt soon learned._

_There was one student, in particular, who fascinated him. Her name was Y/F/N, her skin was the colour of a pasque flower, and her eyes the colour of glacial ice. Two black, curling horns protruding from her raven black hair- silky and soft- and a long black, arrow-headed tail came out of where her tailbone should have finished._

_She was exquisite._

_And for once in his life, Kurt found something of humanity that should be preserved, marvelled._

_Indeed, one could call it love at first sight._

 

* * *

 

 

After spending a year at Xavier’s school for mutants-  _oh, I’m sorry, school for ‘gifted youngsters’_ \- you had successfully gathered yourself a handful of GCSEs and a rather unsatisfied crush on Kurt Wagner, a boy in most of your classes.

Considering the school was still recovering following the war and the rather interesting events involving the President and some mutant-killing sentinels and Magneto- whom you understood to have had some ‘ _particular’_ history with Professor Xavier- it was understandable that there were still only a small number of students.

You had hit 19 a while back, but seeing as you had never been to school- due to your natural form being a violet shaded skin colour, with shiny black horns poking up from among your mass of black hair, complete with a black, pointed tail- you had no education and the Professor decided you would have to go through those first few years again. Probably the fact that you were stuck in the same class as thirty twelve-year olds was why you were so bitter about the idea, but now you had ‘graduated’ and the Professor had reluctantly allowed you to alter your timetable and drop certain subjects. This also meant that you joined an older class, too. 

Currently, you were sprawled lazily on top of a vault in the gymnasium where you were in PE with your teacher, Alex Summers. Being almost the same age as many of the professors, you had also gotten to know Alex and considered him- if not a friend, then- a close associate.

“Y/L/N!” he suddenly bellowed and you yelped as you shot upright, bracing yourself in a crouched and defensive position, a snarl on your lips.

He grinned at you and turned back to his class. “And that is the kind of reflex I want to be seeing in you lot,” he said to his students. “We’re gonna play some dodgeball-” the entire class let out a loud groan “-and quick reflex and instinct is what you’re gonna need to incorporate unless you want to be walking around with a dodgeball-shaped bruise on your face. Now, go!” Alex upturned a bag full of red balls and kicked a few of them across the hall. As he left the students to grab for the balls and begin throwing them at each other, he bounded over to you and hauled himself next to you on the raised vault.

“That was not funny,” you grumbled, settling back down again and sending him a glowering look.

Shooting you a crooked grin, Alex shrugged, “It was a bit. And plus, you do have good reflex so I knew it’d be worth it. For the kids, of course.”

You harrumphed and dropped the matter as the pair of you chuckled at the children’s attempts at both lobbing and avoiding the ball. This class was the younger pupils- you noticed Alex’s younger brother, Scott, a short brunet with red sunglasses (Hank had explained about his laser eye mutation); Jean, a telekinetic and telepathic red-head with a shy personality; Storm- it rained if you called her Ororo- a dark-skinned young girl silver white hair and the ability to manipulate the weather; Suso, Janos’ son who had popped up from nowhere and wasn’t aware of his father’s existence- he had the power to shoot powerful blasts of wind from his palms (the Professor believed with some practice, Suso could use it fly, but everyone was rather dubious of the idea); Brodiline and Kaserina, twin girls from Bulgaria who both had the ability to stretch their limbs to inhuman sizes; Wanda Maximoff- Pietro’s little sister- who was a petite brunette with red irises and psychic abilities; Warren Worthington III, a blond boy with a quiet attitude and magnificent, pristine white feathered wings. 

It had been Sean and Alex who had come to find you after a certain - _ahem_ \- incident involving an upturned bus and a lot of witnesses. Your mutation wasn’t just physical, it also enabled you to control the elements. On a cold day in the Autumn, you had been walking through town clad in a heavy trench coat and hat, careful to keep your tail wrapped around your waist, to steal some food from a grocery store, when you had taken a turn down a side street and come across a pair of muggers in the process of beating a young man with a baseball bat and two by four. 

‘What’re you looking at?’ The taller of the two had yelled at you, spitting in your direction. ‘Get outta here or you’re gonna get it, too.’

A growl had bubbled up through your throat and you had tossed him effortlessly into the brick wall with a flick of your wrist- by throwing a burst of air at his chest- and easily enough finished off the second man with a well-aimed kick to the groin. A quick anonymous call for an ambulance and you were about to leave the scene when you heard a gunshot and felt a sudden pain in your right thigh. Looking down, you saw blood pouring out of a wound and spotted the smoking gun held in the first man’s hand. 

Unable to control  _the beast_ \- a part of you that was aptly named in mannerisms, and that you kept pushed down firmly inside yourself, but when certain situations arose, you couldn’t control it- you opened out your mouth and a animalistic cry shrieked out of it. Tearing off your coat, you lunged at the man and slashed at him with your claw-like black nails. Without your notice, a gale-force tornado twisted through the air and destroyed the street behind you. 

Only hearing the Professor’s voice in your mind stopped you.

 _Listen to me, Y/N, you have to calm your mind. There is a tornado in the street behind you and you have to control your powers and_ stop it.

‘Get out of my head!’ you screeched, clawing at the man beneath you and baring your teeth as though he was the source of the unexplainable voice.

_You must listen to me, Y/N. Calm your mind._

When Charles realised that that was going to be harder than he anticipated, he quickly sent you to sleep himself and, fortunately, the moment your eyes slipped close, the tornado tumbled to the ground and returned to a gentle breeze.

So went the upturned bus you caused. Seventeen people died.

After that, it wasn’t long till Alex and Sean had found you and convinced you to come back with them to the mansion on the promise of being able to learn to control your abilities.

“I’m gonna go grab some lunch,” you told Alex, clapping him on the shoulder before leaping off the vault and trotting out of the gymnasium, hearing Alex shout behind you something along the lines of ‘Get back up, Williams! It’s only a dodgeball!’

Chuckling to yourself, you wandered through the long corridors until you found your way to the kitchen and busied yourself with making a sandwich and poured yourself a coffee.

Without warning, there was a muffled  _spat_  sound behind you and Kurt - _Nightcrawler_ \- appeared behind you in a cloud of midnight blue smoke. 

Spinning around, you pointed a finger at him and warned him, “Kurt, if you creep up on me again, I will blast your blue ass with fire.”

At your threat he merely chuckled, inadvertently baring his pointed teeth, and asked, “Are you making coffee?” in that heavy - _delicious_ - German accent of his.

Gods, he was gorgeous...

His sparkling blue eyes were literally the bluest blue to ever freaking  _blue_ and all you could think about whenever you were with him was that you just wanted to drag your nails down his back and tangle your fingers in his hair.

“So...that coffee?” he prompted, making you realise that you had been wordlessly staring - _gazing, as Alex would term it_ \- at him for a moment too long. 

“Oh,” you spluttered, “yeah, I’m just making a pot. Want some?”

“Sure,” he accepted, pulling up a chair and planting himself in it, folding his arms over the back and watching you with vaguely interested eyes and a small smile- worn as though one had forgotten it was there. 

Unnerved -and slightly embarrassed- you turned back to the work station to pour two cups of coffee, adding sugar to one and milk to both. As you turned to hand Kurt his mug, you offered him a smile and tried to not let your stomach flutter too much when he returned it.

 

* * *

 

 

From your first few days, you made good friends with the reclusive scientist, Dr Hank McCoy- who insisted you called him Hank- over your mutual insecurity of your physical appearance and inability to venture further than the mansion’s gardens.

That’s where you were at the moment, hidden beneath the school in one of Hank’s many labs in the twisting labyrinth that made up the school’s basement. Hank had been peering into a microscope but was now slumped next to you on the sofa and the both of you were slurring your words and could barely make out the blurred images swimming in your vision. You had been the one to coax Hank into joining you in a drink to celebrate his breakthrough with research and before you knew it, you'd both drank too much and were struggling to form coherent thoughts. God knows what Charles must be thinking if he spared a moment to breach your minds.

It seemed that by 1 o'clock in the morning, you and Hank had both managed to consume copious amounts of alcohol and successfully got drunker than either of you had been in a long time. For the past half hour, you'd been playing a game of truth or dare without the dare.

"Ok, so if you could, like, have any other mutation, what would it be?" you asked Hank.

He thought for a minute, before answering, "Definitely not mine. Probably Raven's- you don't know Raven, she's a shapeshifter, Charles' sister, used to be- isn't actually- never mind. But, yeah, I mean then you could, like, be anyone. I wouldn't have to be me. Look like this..."

"Oh, shut up, Beast," you silenced him, waving a hand that had long since stopped obeying what your brain wanted it to do- but so was the power of vodka and depression among physically mutated mutants. "Hank, man, I was chased out of my home by a mob with pitchforks because they thought I was the  _Devil_. Do not get started on changing appearances."

"Guess Texas really is the worst place for a mutant with horns and a tail to grow up," Hank mused, circling his forefinger around the lip of a bottle.

You scoffed. "I wish someone had come to that conclusion a few years ago."

Moving on, Hank shuffled on the sofa and propped his head on his forearm, before asking, "Ok, so what mutation would you have then?"

"I don't know," you admitted, settling back into the sofa's cushions to think it over. "I like Kurt's mutation. I mean, teleportation? That's pretty badass." Sighing, you mumbled, "Kurt," and let your mind slip back into teenage girl mode and think about Nightcrawler. Sniffing and taking another swig of the bottle you held, you suddenly came out with, “Crushes are stupid.”

Surprisingly unfaltered by your proclaimed and unexplained statement, Hank grunted in affirmation. “Pfft, yeah,” he mumbled, his position lying on his back with his feet hanging over the back of the couch making his words almost incomprehensible. “But at least you have a shot with yours.”

It took you a moment to process his words, and when you did, you turned to fix him with a frown and said, “What?”

Without even attempting to sit up and address you properly-  _and so was the miracle of alcohol_ \- Hank replied, “Kurt. He’s totally into you. Plus, you’re beautiful and shit and he loves talking to you. I literally have no chance with the one I like.”

Retracing your steps, you said, “Woah, woah, woah, how did you know I like Kurt?”

Offering you a shrug, Hank said, “Well, everyone knows. You stare at him all the time and it’s obvious the way you act around him. You really oughta work on your subtlety, Y/N.”

Momentarily brushing over that topic, you retraced your mind back again and came up with, “Wait, who do  _you_  like?”

Hank let out a deep sigh and gazed up at the ceiling. “I am not that drunk," he muttered, breezing over your question.

Arching a mischievous brow, you retorted, "Well then, do have another drink, good sir." Hank shook his head with an air of finality but you were so not done. "Come on, Hank," you whined. "We're playing Truth, right? So I told you who I liked-"

"Everybody already knows who you like."

"-so you need to tell me who you like," you concluded, only pinching him a little for his interruption.

With an exasperated exhale, Hank grumbled, "Fine, it's Alex."

You eyebrows shot up.

"He's just so perfect and fucking gorgeous," Hank went on, as though he had waited far too long to divulge this information. "Even with the whole bad boy thing going on- no, _especially_ with the whole bad boy thing going on- he's just so  _hot_."

"Yeah," you nodded. "And straight as far as I'm aware."

With a miserable groan, Hank threw himself off the couch and stumbled in the direction of the camp bed he kept down here for when he fell asleep over the lab table. "Fuck the world," he declared. "All the best ones are straight."

"Or unobtainable," you agreed.

You fell asleep that night with Kurt's blue  _blue_ eyes behind your lids and smiling at you through the steam of a coffee.


	2. Partnered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the Professor’s Biology lesson, you’re paired up for a project with Kurt. All this extra time with your crush is both exhilarating and terrifying! Lucky thing you have your best big blue friend to confide in (or gossip to, choice of words, really.)

Thundering into the classroom in a flurry of folders and papers, you panted breathlessly and held up a finger at the Professor who was about to ask you why you were late.

“I - was - helping - Hank - with - the - jet,” you panted, taking deep gulping breaths before slumping across the classroom to your seat.

“Y/N,” Xavier chastised, frowning, “I appreciate that you’re helping Professor McCoy, but I’d rather it didn;t make you late for your classes.”

Rolling your eyes, you slid into your chair and shoved your books unceremoniously into your bag which you threw under the table. As you did so, you pushed the image of Hank struggling under the jet while discussing his love life problems (namely the slightly shorter than average blond one.) 

Hearing your thoughts, Charles cleared his throat uncomfortably and actually pushed them from the forefront of your mind as he announced to the class, “Right, everyone, as I was saying, we’re starting a new project today-”

The class let out an audible groan as one.

“-and this will go towards your coursework for A-Levels and degrees,” he hastened to point out, pointedly eyeing those in the class who would most benefit all the help they could get in that area. “We’re moving further into the debate over mutant biology and anatomy, versus the evolutionary cycle quoted by Darwin, and compared to humans.”

This was usually the point in which the Professor projected an image through the class’s heads of what he was talking about, explaining it in their minds so that it was comprehensible for each of them.

“Professor?”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Theresa Macmillan with her hand in the air. She was a stout girl with short black hair, wicked eyes and a disturbing air about her that had nothing to do with her mutation.

“Theresa,” the Professor acknowledged.

“Are we in groups for the project?” she asked. You quite visibly noticed how the people near her edged ever so slightly away as she said it, keen to not end up with her. It wasn’t so much a mean thing, there was just something about her that seemed to naturally repel most people from her.

“Ah,” Charles exclaimed, nodding at her. “I was just coming to that. Let me first explain the project, and then I will go on to the matter of groups.

“You  _will_  be working in groups, two or three I should think, and you will be working to comprise a short case file (present it however you wish, but I will be giving extra credits to those who make theirs pretty and colourful) on yourselves,” the Professor explained. “I want a separate file on each member of the group, and you will be including photographs of yourselves and of your powers (should they be visible) as well as detailed explanations and descriptions of them. 

“Should you have a physical mutation, like Y/N, for example-”

“You stood up and did a neat twirl before taking your seat again.

“-then I’d like a full description of that as well as photographs,” Xavier went on. “But nothing below the belt, Martins!” he added quickly when he saw Daniel Martin’s smirk. 

Everybody knew just what Martins’ ability to elongate body parts included.

“If you have any relatives- siblings, parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles- with a mutation, I’d like you to detail it and incorporate it into your part on genetic heritage.

“Yes, there will be four parts to this project. The first part will be on mutation and evolution- how mutants evolved, some more common mutations, etc.- compared to human evolution. I want you all to quote some of Darwin’s original theory in there, and take the evolutionary process at least back to apes.

“For the second part, you will be researching mutations through genetic heritage. If you don’t have any mutant relatives, then research other mutant family trees. Also add differing examples of mutation through families and the theories of exclusive paternal genes and chromosomes. 

“Your own mutations are going to be the third part. I want each member of the group to produce a personal fact file documenting their mutation- which I have already explained about. You’re also going to make comparisons and suggest reasons for each member’s mutation.

“The fourth part is going to go into the anatomy and biology of mutants- yourselves- compared with that of humans. You needn’t go into reproduction or basic systems (please don’t do several pages on the respiratory system unless you can find a mutant who doesn’t breath.)

“And the final part is going to be your conclusion. Basically just sum up everything you have written, comparing mutations with other mutations and with humans,” Xavier finished. “Any questions before I divide you up into groups?”

Two hands were raised.

“Cooper?”

An olive-skinned boy with blank, white eyes without visible irises, and a black hood drawn over his head, asked, “Where do we find mutant family trees?”

“Well, you can ask around,” the Professor suggested. “There are a few students that have mutant relatives. Mr. Maximoff and his sister, for example. Professor Summers also has mutant relatives- though I, err, would perhaps ask someone else before him. He doesn’t tend to be all that friendly to personal questions.”

“Brodiline and Kaserina are sisters,” you piped up. “And I think Oscar’s parents are both mutants.”

“Well, there you go,” Charles smiled, happily gesturing to you as he nodded to Kyle Cooper. “There aren’t many who have family relations who are mutants, let alone open about it, but if you ask around then I’m sure there would be students and teachers who would be happy to talk to you.

“Anyone else? Harley?”

Harley, a boy who’s skin looked as though it was physically  _humming_ in minute vibrations, looked up from where he had been shooting sparks of electricity at his notebook, clearly having forgotten that his hand was still in the air.

“Umm, yeah,” he stammered, trying to remember what his question had been. Running a hand through his silver hair- making it stand terrifically on end- he asked, “Where are we supposed to find out all the stuff on mutant evolution?”

“The library is fully stocked with books on evolution, mutation, human and mutant anatomy alike,” the Professor answered. “There are computers- as you know- on the third floor, all wired up to the internet where there is a lot of mutant information. And there’s always me and the other teachers.”

“So we can ask you for help and stuff?” Harley checked.

“Of course,” Charles replied at once. He was always deeply delighted whenever a student turned up at his office seeking guidance- though he would never admit it because maintaining a purely concerned and friendly face was the way to go (somehow, he doubted students would continue seeking him out if he whooped for joy every time one of them had a problem that required his help.) “You are always welcome to ask me anything, just pop up to see me in my office.” He added a friendly smile as he said that, subtly making the idea more appealing in the class’s minds.

His enthusiasm had always warmed him to you, and it made you smile widely as you watched him.

“Now, any more questions?” the Professor checked once more. “No? Ok then, let’s get onto groups.”

You and Hank had a theory that Charles used his telepathy to work out which students had crushes on each other so he could pair them up, and to see who shared the most interests and would become good friends.

Although you’d always found the idea adorable -and totally something Charles would do- you now found yourself slightly recoiling from the idea. 

Would he put you with Kurt?

_Please, please, please put me with Kurt._

No no no! Don’t pair me up with Kurt!

_We could spend so much time together._

I’d die! I don’t know how to act normal around him!

_Maybe he’d grow a crush on me as well…_

What if he thinks my anatomy’s weird?

_We’d be able to talk and grow closer._

Do I have a normal mutant biology?

_We could spend time together after class._

Maybe my evolutionary heritage is weird!

_We could go on study dates, and spend all night in the library talking._

I can’t take pictures of my mutation!

_I hope he doesn’t get partnered with Bella Thompson- she’s such a bitch._

I can barely control my mutation! While he can teleport at the drop of a fucking hat!

_He’s so gorgeous…_

Aaaaargh!!-

It took you a moment to realise that Xavier had been talking while your bared witness to the conflict in your own head.

“…Rochdale with Fergus…Rogers with Barnes…Boulton with Stone…Thompson with Wetherby…Harley with Wells…Jackson with Wyman…Wagner with Y/L/N…”

Your brain short-circuited. You were partnered with Kurt. Suppressing the suddenly quite overwhelming urge to both leap in the air with glee and collapse on the floor in a pool of your own nervous vomit, you settled with listening to the rest of the pairs instead.

“…Osborn with Parker… Jacklin with Peters…Harrison with Hall…Lupin with Black…Pan with Felix…Potter with Mitchell…Weir with Morgan…Cooper with Matthews…and Ingham with Tomlinson,” Charles finished. “Fantastic! I love having an even number.”

Shortly after that, he dismissed you all early so that you could spend some time with your partner and start planning your project. Taking as long as you could to pack away so that you could calm your nerves and manage to face Kurt and still act like a normal human being, you took one last deep breath and looked up to see the navy blue boy standing patiently at the door.

“So, hey,” he greeted as you reached him.

“Hey,” you returned, steering left down the corridor, heading to the library. “What?” you asked when you saw that he wasn’t walking with you.

“I thought we could maybe plan our project out in the lounge, instead,” Kurt suggested. “The library’s gonna be packed, and the lounge is usually pretty quiet during lessons. Just a suggestion.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

Nodding, you replied, “No, that’s sounds like a good idea, let’s go.”

About to point out that the library would have been closer, seeing as the lounge was on the other side of the mansion, you almost screamed when Kurt suddenly grabbed your arm and you felt your body compress as though it was hurtling through a tight tube.

Unable to breath for a fraction of a second, you felt your feet land on solid ground only a moment before you feared you would have passed out in the limbo between two spaces of matter (yes, you did sometimes listen to what Hank said among his sciencey mumbo jumbo.)

“Sorry,” Kurt apologised, but not bothering to hide his mischievous grin. “I forget to give warning sometimes. I gather that it’s not all that pleasant the first time you do it.”

Shooting him a look that plainly said ‘ _no it fucking isn’t, asshole’_ you stalked off to sit on one of the sofas where you pulled out your biology textbooks and notebooks.

“Right,” you started, “I think if I start with the anatomy part then I could copy most of the human and mutant anatomy out of here and write the comparisons later. While you do the first part. 

“When we’ve both finished those, we can ask around about mutant relatives- unless you’ve got any?” you went on. “And then we do the personal mutations last. That sound alright to you?”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Brilliant. I’m glad you understand this, because I really don’t,” he chuckled.

You grinned and mentally projected a loud  _thanks_  to the Professor.

“So, when do you wanna, like, meet up?” he asked apprehensively. “I mean, we should probably spend some more time together so we can tie the project together, yes?”

Realising that you hadn’t processed a word of what he just said - _because his accent was lovely and totally distracting_ \- you refocussed and said dumbly, “What?”

Kurt’s lips spread in a wide smile, and for a moment you were struck by just how gorgeous those sharpened canines were...

“Y/N?”

“Umm, yeah,” you replied carefully, determinedly flicking back to real life- thoughts of feeling those canines nip your neck and graze over your lips were pushed back from your mind, for the moment. “Yeah, that’s a good idea-”  _that’s an amazing idea_  “-we should totally meet up so we can talk more-”  _and I can fantasise about licking melted chocolate off of your stomach.._. “-and make sure we have the project totally flowing-”  _I’ll tell you what else’ll be flowing.._.

“Great,” Kurt purred. “So, tomorrow night maybe? I can do some research tonight in the library and you can take notes from the book, and we’ll meet tomorrow and compare?”

“Yeah,” you agreed quickly, already losing yourself in those navy blue eyes.  _Gods, he was gorgeous._

“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow then?” the teleporter smiled, raising an eyebrow, and when you nodded in reply, he vanished in a ripple of navy blue smoke.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Hank!”

“Hank!”

“Hank!”

“Beast!”

“Hank!”

“Hank!”

“McCoy!”

“Doctor!”

“Hank!”

“Hank!”

“Hank!”

“Han-!”

“ _What?_!” Hank shouted when he finally unlocked the door to his lab. “What do you want, Y/N? That requires you to hammer down my door and shout at the top of your voice?”

Pouting, you mumbled, “I wasn’t shouting  _that_ loud,” before pushing past him and throwing yourself into a stool at his counter. “Hank! You’ll never guess what!”

Rolling his eyes but sitting down opposite you regardless, he said dutifully, “What?”

“I’m partnered with Kurt for a group project!” you squealed.

This caught the scientist’s attention.

“What, really?” he asked. “So my theory was right then?”

“What are you talking about?”

Hank rolled his eyes again- honestly, one day they’d roll right back into his head. “That the Professor uses his telepathy to pair up the students with crushes on each other.”

Furrowing your brow, you nodded. “I guess so, but I thought that he only did that with couples who had crushes on  _each other_.”

Shrugging, Hank gave you a pointed stare.

“Oh, come off it, Hank,” you grumbled, spinning on the stool to cast a curious eye around the worktop. “Kurt does not fancy me. There’s about as much chance of Kurt falling spontaneously in love with me, as there is Alex coming out as gay. Sorry to break it to you.”

The corner of Hank’s mouth twitched at that. “Yeah, Alex’s frustratingly firm sexuality has already reached my awares. But that has nothing to do with Kurt, you totally have a shot with him. He’s all over you, Y/N.”

You scoffed and Hank rolled his eyes again.

“Maybe if you just asked him out, then you’d see,” he suggested.

Looking up, you fixed the mutant with a deadpan stare and retorted, “Why don’t you just ask Aex out, then  _you’d_ see.”

Narrowing his eyes, Hank replied, “Because I don’t have ‘to see’, I know exactly what he’d say and I don’t think the Professor would appreciate tension between his staff. Let alone considering most of the world wants me kicked out the country for being a mutant, I think the rest of them would kick me out too if anyone else found out I like dudes.”

“For fuck’s sake, Hank,” you shot, standing up and coming over to him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and pulling him close in a comforting hug. “You’re a great big idiot if you think anyone here will  _care_. Everybody loves you and wouldn’t love you any less if you came out as a child murderer. Well, ok, bad example, but you’re overacting. You know I wouldn’t out you before you’re ready, but you shouldn’t feel like you have to hide.”

Pulling back, Hank surveyed you for half a second. Then shook his head and chuckled. “You’re talking nonsense, Y/N, but you’re right anyway.”

“As usual,” you grinned, and felt your heart rise when Hank returned it.

“Fine, no more hiding,” Hank said firmly. “Mutant and proud.”

“Straight as a hula hoop and proud,” you corrected, to which the furry blue scientist chortled.

“Straight as a hula hoop and proud.”


	3. Surmountable Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting to work on the project with Kurt can be more stressful than one might think. The two of you talk to the Maximoffs about mutations through families, which is fun considering you get on with Pietro, but also distinctly horrible considering Pietro likes to give indiscreet nudges and winks to you whenever Kurt says something. All that plus the tensions rising between both mismatched couples at Mutant High- Kurt and you have a moment, and Alex is worried about Hank.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I recently binge watched the entire series of X-Men: Evolution (and heavily recommend that everyone with a love of X-Men watch it!) and have incorporated some of that Kurt in here. Enjoy and review!

"Hey, Y/N," a voice called through your bedroom door, adding a knock just to make sure.

Groaning, you rolled over and grumbled into the pillow, "What-time-is-it," in a string of words.

"Err," the voice stammered- your sleep addled brain detected a distinct German accent lacing the words. "Vell, it is nearly noon and ve have still not started the Professor's project..."

Your eyes flew open. "Shit!" you swore, diving out of bed and rolling onto the floor in a tangled mess of limbs and blankets. "Sorry!" you shouted in the direction of the door as you struggled to pull a t-shirt over your head and stumbled towards the en suite bathroom. "I'll be out in a minute, Kurt!"

"Zat is OK, Y/N," he assured you, still standing outside your door. You heard a definite chuckle.

Peeing quickly, you grabbed your toothbrush and jammed some toothpaste on it before shoving it unceremoniously into your mouth. Brushing your teeth as you haphazardly pulled on some jeans, you clattered out of the door and almost bowled over Kurt on your way.

"Shi' Kur'!" you exclaimed around your toothbrush as you rolled over on the floor and accepted his hand to pull you up. Lurching towards the water fountain protruding out of the wall opposite, you leaned over and spat the toothpaste into it before tossing your toothbrush into your room through the open door, slamming it behind you. "Sorry about that," you mumbled sheepishly, flushing scarlet, "Didn't notice the time."

He chortled and shrugged. "Zat is fine, Y/N," he told you. "Now ve have got ze whole day to get on vith ze project."

Through the middle of a yawn, you nodded blearily and didn't protest when he took your hand again and teleported the both of you to the lounge sofa. Slumping down onto the soft cushions, you snuggled under one of the fleecy blankets and mumbled something incomprehensible to Kurt, who only managed to catch the words 'breakfast' and 'me'.

Chuckling quietly, the teleporter zapped himself off to the kitchen to make you some toast and coffee. When he returned, you were buried almost entirely under blankets and muffled snores were emanating from beneath them.

With a loud bang, he slammed the plate on the table and watched with a mischievous smile as you shot upright, sending blankets and cushions flying everywhere as you gasped out, "I'm up! I'm up!"

Glaring at him as you realised who it was, you snatched the toast and nibbled at it as he pulled out the project you'd both done so far. "Right, I have finished ze first part," he started, "How are you doing on ze third?"

Producing a wad of rolled up sheets from your pocket, you clumsily thrust them at him and fell back onto the sofa with a rattling yawn.

"Vow, you have finished alveady," he said. "Zis is veally very gute, Y/N. How did you manage to get all of zis done so quickly? I thought ze third part was bigger than ze first?""

Shrugging, you told him, "I didn't sleep last night so I thought I might as well get it started...and then I finished it."

A flash of concern crossed his features before he smiled, baring sharpened canines for a moment- your heart fluttered uncontrollably. "How come?" he asked, feigning a casual air.

Frowning at the poor act- or maybe it was actually really good and you were just discovering a new mutation that could detect lying or perhaps he was just being casual- you sighed. "I don't know," you lied. In truth, you'd been fantasising about Kurt until ungodly hours and forgotten how to sleep, "I guess it was just one of those nights?"

The matter was dropped and the two of you delved into a long session of work involving the second part: genetic mutation inheritance (family trees and such.)

"I don't have any mutant relatives," Kurt told you, averting his gaze as he added bitterly, "Vell, if you don't count Mystique, but she doesn't count."

You awkwardly chewed your lip as you watched him battle with two opposing consciences. "Kurt..." you started.

"It doesn't matter," he concluded, turning back to you. "So, vhat about you? Do you have any mutant relations?"

Blowing a raspberry between your lips, you stared at the ceiling and thought back hard. In truth, you couldn't remember much about your past, let alone your family, but something vague about a little boy who could burn things with his hands stuck in your mind.

"I can't remember much about my old family," you admitted, "I think they're the ones who sent me off to Trask. But they did a pretty good job of wiping that from my memory while I was in the lab, so I don't know much-"

Kurt's expression was looking more and more horrified as you continued talking absently and normally as though what you were saying was perfectly usual.

"-I do sometimes dream about this little dark-haired boy who could burn things with his hands. I think, maybe, he was my brother?" you finished, finally looking at Kurt who was frowning at you.

"You have these dreams often?" he asked curiously.

"Umm, yeah, I guess."

"Zen, vhy have you not talked to ze Professor about zis?" he accused. "Y/N, if you are remembering things about your past, zen you need to go to ze Professor so he can help you vith it."

Looking down at your hands guiltily, you huffed, "Yeah, I know, but come on, let's just get this stupid project over with."

Nightcrawler gave you one last pointed look before shuffling the papers in front of him and suggesting, "So how about we go talk to Pietro and Wanda?"

One corner of your lip twitched up as you agreed.

* * *

You found Pietro in the drama hall, running in a blur around the stage painting and decorating the set for the drama club's next performance. The gloriously painted colours of Venice's canals sparkled in the overhead lights; Queen was blaring out of the speakers of a ratty old boombox and Pietro was singing along loudly as he zipped about the stage.

"Oh-hey-guys-didn't-see-you-come-in," he said all in less than half a breath, startling Kurt who teleported ten feet away on pure instinct.  "Sorry, did-I-scare-ya?" Pietro asked with a wicked grin curving his features as he dashed to Kurt's side. "I-have-that-effect-on-people."

Giggling, you stepped forwards and patted Kurt's shoulder. "Sorry, he can be a bit hectic at the best of times," you explained, slapping Pietro on the arm- who had the good grace to stay still so that you could.

The silver-haired speedster just shrugged sheepishly before returning to his work at the other end of the room on the stage. You noticed he had his hair tied back into a loose ponytail and that he was wearing one of his old shirts that hung a bit too loosely on him over a pair of jeans that fitted a bit too tightly on him. All in all, your old friend was actually looking pretty hot today and you smirked at the idea as you subtly checked out his ass in those all-too-familiar worn jeans.

Out of the corner of your eye, you swear you saw a muscle in Kurt's jaw twitch but passed it off as just a flick of the light.

"What-are-ya-doing-down-here-anyway?" Pietro asked, zipping past the both of you in a tunnel of wind before reappearing on the other side of the hall with three fresh buckets of paint and zooming back down to the stage. "This-about-the-Professor's-project? I-heard-several-people-asking-Oscar-about-his-parents. Nobody-seems-want-to-talk-to-Kaserina-or-Brodiline-but-that's-probably-because-neither-of-them-speak-much-English-and-nobody's-asked-me-yet..."

You detected a slight note of pouting and slowed the air in the room down enough to get a good look a him, confirming that the speedster was indeed pouting.

"Hey!" he snapped, when he found that you'd lifted him off the ground so that his fast-moving legs weren't touching anything and he wasn't moving anywhere. "What'd-you-do-that-for?"

"You know if you stopped teasing people about their speed and stealing their stuff, then they'd probably be a bit more inclined to come and ask you about your mutant family history," you told him, folding your arms and raising an eyebrow.

He huffed and squirmed mid-air. "I can and will tornado your ass if you don't put me down, Y/N," he threatened in a grumpy mumble, already starting to twist his body mid-air to show you how serious he was.

"Err," Kurt interjected, "perhaps not? Ve only vant to know about you and your sister's abilities and possibly any other relatives you might have?"

Grumbling quietly about stupid element control mutants, Pietro didn't unfold his tightly crossed arms until you settled him back on his feet. As soon as he was back on the ground, Pietro whizzed right up to your side and scooped you up into his arms.

"Let's go talk to my sister then, eh?" he said with a grin. "Race you there, blue," he shot at Kurt, before suddenly you were flying through the air at a remarkable speed with the mansion's insides flashing past your vision. Knowing that Pietro could see every little thing due to his mutational benefits did its job in comforting you; it also helped that he had ran with you before- usually when you were nicking stuff from stores together.

In an instant, you were in the grounds where Wanda and some of the other children were practising their mutations.

"Hey, Wanda," you greeted as you hopped down out of Pietro's arms and smiled at his twin sister- who everyone called his 'little sister' because Pietro liked to remind them all that he was a whole twelve minutes older than her. "Are you doing anything particularly important right now?"

The brunet glanced over at her teacher, who was focussed on another pupil at that moment, before turning back and shaking her head. "Nope, I'm free," she told you. "What's up?"

"Vell, ve are doing a project for the Professor," a voice said behind you. Peering over your shoulder for a second, you grinned at Kurt who was looking at Wanda, "and vere vondering if you and your brother could tell us a little about your mutations and any other family members who have zem?"

Nodding enthusiastically, it took only a moment before Wanda agreed and Pietro ran you over to the lounge as Kurt teleported himself and Wanda to the same place. You arrived at approximately the same time, though you saw the boys shooting each other competitive glares.

"Thanks, Kurt," Wanda thanked, brushing her fingertips over Kurt's blue forearm and licking her lips flirtatiously.

You stood there shocked for a moment before sitting down grumpily and asking with a sharp edge to your tone, "So, Wanda, you can make stuff move, huh? Wow, that must be so cool." The dry sarcasm made all three of them look at you with a frown. Realising yourself, you spluttered over a quick apology and reworded it. "Sorry, so you're a telekinetic, Wanda?"

"Umm, yeah," she nodded warily. "I produce a sort of red mist when I use my powers. I can move objects and people. It's mainly in my hands."

"So, do you not have any physical mutations apart from zat?" Kurt asked interestedly, unconsciously hiding his three-fingered hands in the deep pockets of his favourite navy blue hoodie.

“Umm, no, not really,” Wanda replied, smiling at Kurt.

You fought down a growl that was rumbling in your chest when Kurt returned it warmly, his tail flicking happily to the side of him. Sneaking a peek at your own tail, which was wrapped firmly around your waist, you let the powerful muscles relax a bit and it uncurled to lay against the sofa cushion.

Pietro, who was sat beside you, glanced down and danced a fingertip across the tough purple skin, sending a comforting warmth through you. You needn’t be jealous of Wanda. First of all, the idea of Kurt returning your feelings in the slightest was ludicrous, and secondly, you had one of your best friends right beside you.

“Y/N?”

Snapping out of your thoughts, you looked to Kurt who was frowning at you with a raised eyebrow.

 _Nope_ , you decided, _there is no way I could imagine that handsome son of a bitch dating my best friend’s twin sister. I think I would tear the entire mansion down in a ‘freak earthquake/twister.’_

“What?” you replied dumbly.

“Are you vriting any of zis down?” he asked pointedly, nodding towards his notebook and pen which sat on the coffee table.

Taking them up, you grinned and nodded. “Yes, sir!”

He rolled his eyes but you ignored him and turned to Wanda, “What were you saying? Telekinetic, red mist, hands, move people and objects, no physical mutation?” Jotting all of that down, you awaited further instruction with the nib of the pen poised above the paper.

“That’s all about me,” she shrugged, pointing at her twin. “Pietro, you tell them about your mutations. You can tell them about any relatives too, you know more about that than I do. I need to go back outside anyway, I think Logan might notice if I’m gone.”

“Oh yeah,” Kurt laughed, “I forgot you had Mr Howlett for zis period. Have fun explaining your absence.”

Sticking her tongue out at him, she disappeared around the corner before her brother or Kurt could offer their speedy services to get her there.

“Right,” you sighed, bracing yourself, “Go for it, Pie.”

Shooting you a grin, Pietro started talking at super speed, “So-I-have-the-mutation-to-run-super-fast-I-can-also-think-real-fast-it’s-how-I-keep-up-with-everything-‘cause-it-would-get-really-confusing-if-I-couldn’t. I-can-also-make-other-stuff-move-real-fast-like-if-I-vibrate-my-hands-super-fast-on-glass-or-something-I-think-Hank-or-Charles-or-someone-said-that-I-was-transferring-molecular-energy-or-something-or-other-to-it-and-made-it-go-super-fast-too-and-it-shattered. It-was-totally-awesome.”

Taking less than a second to draw breath, he continued, “As-for-mutations-in-the-rest-of-my-family: my-little-sister-Lorna-has-been-showing-signs-of-manifestation-or-whatever-the-Professor-likes-to-call-it-Wanda-reckons-she’ll-be-telepatic-but-I’ve-seen-her-make-her-hands-disappear-when-she-watches-Mum’s-horror-films-so-I-reckon-she’s-gonna-be-an-invisible-girl! Which’d-be-dead-cool-‘cause-then-I-can-teach-her-the-trade!”

“The ‘trade’ being shoplifting?” you interrupted with a pointed eyebrow.

Pietro shrugged and sing-songed, “ _Guilty_!”

Behind you, Kurt shook his head and mumbled something that sounded like a scornful ‘ _Kleptomaniac_.’

Ignoring him, you waved for Pietro to go on.

“Right-well-as-for-other-family-members-you-probably-know-about-Magneto,” he carried on. “I-mean-I-would’ve-appreciated-it-if-Charles-or-my-mum-had-told-me-about-him-being-my-father-before-I-broke-him-out-of-the-Pentagon-”

“Magneto’s your father?!” Kurt exclaimed, making you jump. “And _you’re_ ze one who broke into ze Pentagon?!”

“ _Guilt_ -” Pietro started, but you cut him off quickly. “Yeah, there’s a whole load of things you don’t wanna know about Pietro, but never mind that. So you’ve got your two sisters and Magneto, anyone else?”

Pietro thought for a moment. “I-don’t-think-so,” he concluded. “Possibly-our-aunt-Marge: Wanda-swears-down-that-she’s-an-empath-but-I-think-she-just-has-that-effect-on-people.”

“Ok, well I think that’s all we need, Pie,” you told him, smiling.

He grinned, then pointedly flicked his eyes from the two of you, “So-I-guess-I’ll-just-leave-you-two-alone-then…”

Your eyes widened and you mentally begged Pietro to shut his trap and speed off already.

“ _Alo-o-one_ ,” Pietro reiterated, nudging you in the arm. You poked him harshly in the ribs with the end of your tail and hissed, “Piss off already, Speedy.”

He just winked at you and disappeared in a silvery blur.

“Sorry about that,” you apologised, spinning on the sofa to face Kurt, “Pietro can be…well…he can be Pietro.” You held your arms out helplessly and gave a sheepish shrug.

Kurt hung his head and chuckled quietly, flashing white canines which spurred on a sudden wave of all kinds of inappropriate thoughts.

“So, umm,” Kurt mumbled looking back up again and nervously chewing on his bottom lip. “You are, err, I mean to say, you and Pietro…are you, umm…”

Furrowing your brow, you peered up into his golden eyes and said, “Come on, Kurt, spit it out.”

Inhaling deeply, he blurted out, “So, umm, how long have you and, err, Pietro, b-been seeing each other?”

Casting your mind back, you answered, “Well, we’ve been friends since I came to the mansion because he could run quick enough to get me out of here whenever I had a nightmare and caused an earthquake.” Laughing without much humour, you went on, “It happened more than I’d like to admit, but Pietro could get into my bedroom and carry me out the mansion before I caused much damage. I suppose we’ve been best friends since then.”

Kurt looked like he had when Pietro had beaten him in a race a few weeks back: slightly heartbroken, miserable and more than a little envious. “Vell, you make a good couple,” he ground out, which caught your attention and caused you to laugh suddenly.

He looked up at you sharply. “Vhat is so funny?”

“Me and Pietro aren’t dating!” you assured him, curling your clawed hand around his three-fingered one without realising. “We’re just friends!”

“You are?” he checked, his features lighting up.

“Of course we’re only friends,” you said, nodding and squeezing your fingers.

He pouted. “But you vere checking out his arsch in ze stage hall?”

Choking back more laughter, you gasped out, “He was wearing my jeans! I was checking to see if the little hole on the right back pocket was there- and it was by the way, remind me to steal those back later.”

Kurt’s eyes flicked down to where you were holding his hand and stayed there as he asked, “So…you are not seeing anybody zen?”

“N-no,” you stammered out as you remembered yourself and retracted your hand from his awkwardly- what the hell were you _doing_?! You can’t just hold his _hand_! What do you think he’s gonna do? He’s Kurt Wagner! Nightcrawler! Just how many girls had a crush on him! And why should he ever choose you-?

Your thoughts were silenced as Kurt’s cool blue lips pressed against yours.

Eyes widening as you sat there, stock still with no idea of moving ever again, you watched as Kurt leaned back and blushed almost indigo. “I-I-I’m sorry, Y/N, so sorry,” he spluttered, shyly tucking his fringe behind one ear and moving to get up and leave.

To stop him, you uncontrollably found yourself reaching out and pulling him down with a handful of his navy hoodie enclosed in your grip. Tugging him back down to the sofa, you crushed your lips to his and let your eyes close this time. He soon fell into the kiss and gently pushed you down onto the nest of cushions and blankets still there from this morning.

Licking his way into your mouth, you sighed as the teleporter dragged his fangs teasingly across your bottom lip and sucked on the tip of your tongue. Tangling one purple hand in his dark blue hair, you slid the other down between your bodies until it was at his waistband. Slipping one clawed finger under the waistband, you dragged your claw lightly across the skin and grinned wickedly into the kiss when he shivered bodily.

Breaking apart from your lips, Kurt kissed his way down your jaw and to your neck. Stretching your head back, you bared your neck to him and he licked his rough, cat-like tongue up the expanse of skin, pausing to suck and nibble deep bruises into the delicate purple- leaving almost black love bites spotting your neck and sternum. As he traced his fingers across your stomach, he bunched up your flimsy sweater in his fingers and reached underneath it to skate across the stretch of skin there, you hooked a leg around his waist and groaned loudly.

Moving your hand further down his trousers, you found the band of his boxers and pulled it to let it snap against his skin, smirking at his hissed breath against the hollow of your throat. Letting your fingers disappear below the band of his boxers, you found his cock and smiled when you dragged your fingers across it and felt it jump to life in your hand.

He moaned but a second later you found both of your hands held tightly above your head with his tail wrapped around your wrists. Shooting you a sly smirk, he leant back down and ceased your protests with a passionate kiss; one of his hands was still under your shirt caressing your side, and the other was palming your arse cheek through your jeans.

Beating your tail against the floor, you growled and squirmed under his grip of your wrists. Shoving a leg between yours, Kurt ground his hips down against yours and you both gasped at the friction; you could feel heat pool in your abdomen and wetness in your knickers. Kurt’s cock was hard against your thigh and you wanted so badly to touch it or yourself that the restraint around your wrists was driving you slowly insane.

On a surge of hormones, you snarled and used your slightly increased strength to flip the both of you over, releasing your hands from his grip and straddling his hips. “Hmph,” you smirked, looking down at him and running your tongue over your lips.

With a quick movement, the point of your tail poised itself over his jeans’ waistband and slipped below, curling around his hard and cock and giving a light, teasing pull that had him gasping and writhing beneath you with his eyes clenched shut.

Continuing to stroke his cock with your tail, you leant over and locked his lips with yours, stealing kiss after kiss from him as you let his hands mess themselves in your hair and burrow themselves under your shirt.

It felt as if the mansion was actually shaking as you ground your crotch down against his and something deep, growling and _beast_ coil in your stomach.

“Y/N!”

At the sudden cry of your name from the doorway into the lounge, you leapt off of Kurt with a muffled yelp and turned to see Alex stood watching you with a horrified – _and slightly traumatised_ \- expression marring his features. His interruption served to bring you back down to Earth and you swore as you realised that the mansion _was_ actually shaking.

“There’s a fire raging around the grounds, a tornado on the third floor, a lightning storm outside and a _fucking_ earthquake threatening to shake this house to the ground!” he yelled at you over the sudden roar of wind smashing against the windows.

Inhaling deeply, you didn’t notice Kurt teleporting instinctively at Alex’s sudden entrance, or Alex screaming at you, all you could see as you closed your eyes was the energy around you. Harnessing the elements surrounding the mansion as though they were physical things, you clenched your fists and drug them inwards, into yourself and felt the heat of the fire, the chaos of the wind, the electricity of the lightning and the rumbling of the earthquake soak deep into your skin and deep into your being.

The beast inside you roared and clawed inside of you as it felt the onslaught of pure energy crashing into your figure as the wind whipped your hair around and beat against your form.

With a deep, rattling breath, you collapsed onto your knees and fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

The blackness of your mind lasted only a second but felt as though you were trapped in there for an eternity.

“Y/N? Y/N?” Alex pleaded, shaking you awake.

Groaning and lifting a palm to press against your pounding head, you mumbled, “Is everyone OK? I didn’t hurt anyone did I? Is it all gone?”

“Yeah, yeah, Y/N, it’s all gone,” the blond assured you as he lifted you onto the sofa. “Everything’s fine. But what the hell happened? I was running around through all of that looking for you, everything was in chaos- I thought you’d been getting better at your control?”

“I have,” you brushed him off, already striding off to the door and peering around it to see any evidence of damage. “But it, umm, sometimes falters if I’m feeling particularly emotional…”

Alex grimaced. “Yeah, like when you’re getting it on with fuzzy blue teleporters?” he retorted.

Wincing, you turned back to him and offered a guilty half-smile.

He rolled his eyes. “Let’s go survey the damage, then.”

* * *

As it turns out, the majority of the damage had been repaired when you’d taken in all of the energy of the rampaging elements.

“Huh,” you mused, “Well that’s either really lucky or I’m getting good.”

Alex chuckled scathingly. “I’m sure it’s the former.”

Sticking out your tongue, you peered around and frowned. “Where’s Hank by the way?” you asked. “I don’t think I’ve seen him for a little while.”

Blushing scarlet against his pale skin, Alex turned his gaze down to his shoes and shuffled uncomfortably before admitting, “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about earlier.” At your inclined brow, he expanded, “Hank hasn’t been talking to be as much lately, and I was, umm, I was kinda, err…I was worried about him…” The last sentence came out as a quiet mutter.

At that comment, you frowned deeply.

“What do you mean he hasn’t spoken to you much?” you pressed.

Scuffing his toe along the carpet, Alex said, “Well, we always used to talk and stuff, and I noticed he wasn’t at dinner yesterday because he always sits next to me and talks about his experiments. And he wasn’t at breakfast this morning either because he always makes an extra slice of toast and I steal it. And I know he didn’t have lunch because I left a plate of his favourite pizza in the fridge and it’s untouched- apart from when Bobby tried to steal it.” He sighed and hung his head. “I think he’s in one of his scientist flunks again and has locked himself in his lab. Please help me get him out of there, Y/N, I don’t want him to avoid me…”

A small smile spread slowly across your lips as you searched Alex’s eyes and found nothing but sincerity and concern and sadness.

“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” you asked softly.

The blond looked up sharply and spluttered for a second before slumping back against the wall and burying his head in his hands miserably. “I love him so much…” he groaned, his voice muffled against his palms. “I don’t know how to act around him and I keep making an idiot of myself and I _hate_ it. But…I just want to know that he’s ok.”

You took a step forwards and prised Alex’s hands from his face and wrapped him up in a tight hug. “You’re my best friend, Alex,” you mumbled into the warmth of his shoulder, “and yes, most of the time you do act like an idiot.” His body shook slightly with laughter. “But we all love you anyway, so let’s go down and force your furry blue scientist out of his hidey hole.”


End file.
